The Storm, Next Time

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ambitious proposal to protect New York’s 520 miles of shoreline and fortify the city against storms that could be worse than Hurricane Sandy will require intense planning, engineering, community input and all sorts of adjustments. But Mr. Bloomberg has done the city a great service by pushing for the necessary short-term repairs and mapping out a broader strategy that takes into account many of the worst consequences of climate change.

About 400,000 New Yorkers live in flood-prone areas. City analysts estimate that, by the 2050s, 800,000 people will live within those areas. As Mr. Bloomberg said of the need to start working immediately: “Whether you believe climate change is real or not is beside the point; the bottom line is we can’t run the risk.”

The main challenge, of course, will be finding enough money to build the walls, bulkheads, levees and other fortifications to minimize the effects of future storms. Mr. Bloomberg estimated that his complex plan, with 250 proposals, would cost almost $20 billion over the next decade. That figure will almost certainly rise, and his estimate does not include some proposed items, like a new residential complex on Lower Manhattan’s East Side that would add affordable housing and have a flood-control function.

About $10 billion would come from city and federal accounts allocated for Sandy relief; another $5 billion would be covered by aid approved by Congress. The city would have to raise the remaining $5 billion.

On some level, this plan may be the mayor’s attempt to counter criticism about his development policies, which have encouraged more residential and commercial building in coastal areas. This proposal would enhance protections for the waterfront and “not retreat from it,” Mr. Bloomberg said. Conservationists have advocated the restoration of more natural flood barriers, rather than the construction of man-made ones. And Gov. Andrew Cuomo has put forward an extensive proposal to buy out homeowners on shore properties in storm-damaged areas like Oakwood Beach in Staten Island. If the houses there are demolished, the area would return to natural marshlands, which help protect inland areas.

The Bloomberg plan does propose strengthening the natural ecosystems around the city, with larger sand dunes or even double-dunes in the Breezy Point section of the Rockaways. But it also proposes gates or walls to keep floodwaters from surging into and around several creeks and waterways. The plan does not envision a giant barrier or gate across New York Harbor. The city’s analysts determined that such a major structure would be too costly and could make Coney Island, the Rockaways and Staten Island even more vulnerable to storm surges.

The 438-page Bloomberg plan includes proposals to help with flood insurance (some homeowners have been told by insurers that they must pay $10,000 a year) and to create new zoning and building requirements, especially for hospitals and nursing homes.

Mr. Bloomberg said Tuesday that preparing the city for climate change is “a defining challenge of our future.” His plan may not be perfect, but it gives the next mayor a good start on protecting the city against natural disasters.